Director of Public Prosecutions v Siokos

[2024] VCC 1279

IN THE COUNTY COURT OF VICTORIA

AT MELBOURNE

CRIMINAL DIVISION

Revised
Not Restricted
Suitable for Publication

Case No. CR-23-00447

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS

v

LEO SIOKOS

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JUDGE:	HER HONOUR JUDGE HARPER
Melbourne
DATE OF HEARING:	7 August 2024
DATE OF SENTENCE:	20 August 2024
CASE MAY BE CITED AS:	DPP v SIOKOS
MEDIUM NEUTRAL CITATION:	[2024] VCC 1279

REASONS FOR SENTENCE
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Subject:CRIMINAL LAW

Catchwords:              Causing serious injury recklessly

Legislation Cited:      Sentencing Act 1991

Cases Cited:Worboyes [2021] VSCA 169, Verdins (2007) 16 VR 279, DPP v Nguyen [2023] VCC 437, DPP v Tennant [2022] VCC 78, DPP v Patten [2020] VCC 993. 

Sentence:                  2 years 2 months imprisonment with NPP 16 months

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APPEARANCES:	Counsel	Solicitors
For the DPP	Ms E. James	Ms A. Hogan, Solicitor for Public Prosecutions
For the Accused	Mr N. Goodenough	VLA Broadmeadows

HER HONOUR:

1Leo Siokos, you have pleaded guilty to a single charge of recklessly causing serious injury to Joseph Brown, the maximum penalty for which is 15 years' imprisonment.

Circumstances of offending

2The circumstances of your offending were outlined in the Summary of Prosecution Opening for Plea dated 26 July 2024.  I will summarise those facts here.

3

At the time of the offending you were living in Brunswick West.  Your partner,

Ms Samantha Brett was at your home.

4The victim, Mr Joseph Brown, lived in an apartment complex on the opposite side of the street in Brunswick West with his partner Ms Ellie Bremner and his stepdaughter.

5You did not know Mr Brown personally, but you had seen each other in the neighbourhood. Mr Brown suspected that you and Ms Brett had stolen cigarette butts from his balcony in the past. He had spoken to you and Ms Brett about not entering his apartment complex if you did not live there.

6Ms Bremner stated that she had in the past had verbal arguments with you and Ms Brett about your presence in their apartment complex, which you and Ms Brett usually responded aggressively to with words like 'I'm gonna cut ya' and 'I'll beat the shit outta ya.'

7On 11 June 2020 at 4:30 pm, Mr Brown was having a cigarette and using his phone out the front of his apartment.

8Mr Brown saw you and Ms Brett across the street pointing at his apartment complex. He said words to the effect of 'don’t come into our yard'.

9Ms Brett said to Mr Brown, 'Do you wanna get smashed?' and you replied 'I'm gonna kill you'. 

10

Ms Bremner heard the exchange from inside her residence. Ms Bremner and

Mr Brown then walked towards your residence intending to tell you and Ms Brett to stop coming into their apartment complex.

11Mr Brown and Ms Bremner called out words to the effect of 'You can't keep coming into our driveway'.

12You and Ms Brett then began to scream from inside your unit and Ms Bremner says that you then opened the door and said 'What the fuck do you want?'

13You moved towards Mr Brown and you both began to scuffle.

14You lunged at Mr Brown with a knife in your right hand. You placed your left hand on Mr Brown's shoulder and stabbed him in the abdomen.

15Mr Brown did not realise he had been stabbed and thought that you had punched him. He tried to get the knife from you to protect himself.   He managed to wrestle you to the ground whilst you were still holding the knife.  Mr Brown stood on top of you, holding your arms, with the knife still in your right hand.

16It was at that point that Mr Brown realised his right hand was bleeding. Ms Bremner and Ms Brett were also engaged in a scuffle. Mr Brown asked Ms Bremner for help as he realised you were holding a knife. Both Mr Brown and Ms Bremner told you that they would let you go if you gave them the knife.

17When you refused to let go of the knife, Ms Bremner put her foot on your chest, before Mr Brown let you go and moved away quickly.

18Throughout the altercation, you continued to yell at Mr Brown that you were going to kill him.

19Once Mr Brown left your residence, he realised he had been stabbed in the abdomen.  Basic first aid was given by Ms Bremner and a neighbour before Triple 0 was called.

20You, Ms Bremner and Ms Brett each called Triple 0.  Once in the ambulance, Mr Brown became aware that you had in fact stabbed him twice.

21The knife used was found inside your residence.

22While on the phone to Triple 0 you gave a version in which Mr Brown was the aggressor who stabbed you from behind.  You then said he fell on top of the knife. 

23To the attending police and paramedics, you repeated the account that Mr Brown had brought the knife and stabbed you whilst you tried to wrestle it off him. You repeated the claim that Mr Brown had then fallen onto the knife. This was captured on body worn camera.

24At the hospital, you spoke with a staff member, Melinda Dobing, who asked if you intended to make a make a victims of crime claim to cover medical fees. You gave a further account to Ms Dobing for that purpose, which differed to previous accounts. You stated that Mr Brown had punched you and taken your cane and dropped a knife which you picked up. You made no mention of being stabbed, or Mr Brown falling.

25I note that you did sustain some injuries from the offending, albeit superficial wounds and scratches. No stitches were required, and you were given antibiotics.

26At hospital Mr Brown was treated for three stab wounds, two to the left side of his abdomen and one to his right hand. The abdominal wounds had penetrated the muscle and fat, causing injury to Mr Brown's kidney, bowel and rib.

27The injury to Mr Brown's hand also required stiches.

Gravity of the offending

28Causing injury recklessly is a most serious offence, as reflected in the 15 year maximum penalty set by Parliament. 

29The injury you inflicted caused internal damage to Mr Brown's bowel and kidney and necessitated surgical repair.  Mr. Brown was unarmed and came to your premises to talk to you.  You drastically escalated the situation by producing a knife.   

30Your victim Joseph Brown did not submit a Victim Impact Statement however his police statement detailed the nature, extent and consequences of his injuries.  It is not hard to fathom the fear he must have experienced and the ongoing pain and suffering from his injuries.  This would have been a traumatic and upsetting experience for him.

Plea of guilty and remorse

31Your plea of guilty was entered at a late stage, however it retains utilitarian benefit.  You have saved the court and the community the time and expense of running a trial and spared the witnesses the ordeal of giving evidence again.

32Your counsel cited low level reliance on the principles in Worboyes [2021] VSCA 169. I do not consider this to have any relevance, given your plea was entered after the 'COVID backlog' was cleared in this court and you have not yet served any time in custody.

33By your plea of guilty, you have demonstrated some acceptance of responsibility for your offending.  You have been assessed as having a mix of remorse and recognition of the seriousness of your actions.  You are said to understand the harm caused by your actions and the legal consequences you face.  This compromises my giving full weight to remorse, however I accept that there is some modest level of remorse apparent on your part. 

Personal circumstances

34I turn now to your personal circumstances. 

35You are 66 years of age, having been born in August 1958.  You have two younger siblings with whom you have no contact.  You live alone in public housing in Brunswick West and have no family support in Melbourne.

36You were educated to Year 8 or 9 but struggled with reading and writing.  You went on to work at various jobs in the rail industry until some 20 years ago when the department shut down.  You have been receiving a Disability Support Pension for the last six years due to back issues. 

37You have two adult sons who reside in Queensland with your grandchildren.  You have monthly phone contact but do not see them.  You were married to Eve, the mother of your children, for some six years.

38Prior to your marriage, you were in a stable relationship with a woman called Anne for some four years.  

39Most recently, you have been, and remain, in a relationship with Samantha.  You do not live together. 

40You report no alcohol or drug use, but you are on methadone.  You have severe dental issues requiring removal and replacement of teeth.  You also suffer from lipomas in your upper limbs, Hepatitis B, cirrhosis of the liver and chronic back pain from a vertebral crush fracture.

41You have a home care package managed by Wintringham which allows support with home care, personal care, transport to appointments, advocacy and physiotherapists.  You have engaged with your case manager, Ms Shelly Harrington, who assists you in getting to appointments but have declined other services.   

42I received a psychological report authored by Ms Gina Cidoni.  Present clinical evaluation indicates that you meet the diagnostic criterial for schizophrenia spectrum disorder and you experience signs of schizotypal personality disorder.  I note you are on monthly depot injections.

43Ms Cidoni found that you exhibit markedly impaired function in major areas such as self-care, interpersonal relations and work.  You have peculiar beliefs that influence your behaviours and can cause you to feel suspicious or paranoid.  You demonstrated disorganised or regressive behaviours, confusion, disorientation, inappropriate affect, hallucinations, unsystematic beliefs, fragmented or bizarre thinking, blunted emotions and a pervasive sense of isolation. 

44You were assessed as being a moderate risk of violent recidivism. 

Sentencing factors and considerations

45Mr Siokos, there is no excuse for stabbing someone who comes merely to speak to you about your antisocial behaviour.  This is very serious offending.   You placed your victim's life in danger. 

46While there has been a delay in the finalisation of this matter, in part it has resulted from your choice to run a committal and the provision of psychiatric reports.  Those reports found you fit to stand trial.  There was some initial delay in you being charged. 

47You have a number of dated prior matters spanning from 1977 - 2008, together with an appearance in 2019 which resulted in a three month term of imprisonment. In 1999 you were, relevantly, convicted of recklessly causing injury.  Specific deterrence clearly has a role to play in the sentencing process. 

48It was submitted by your counsel that all of the principles in Verdins (2007) 16 VR 279 are enlivened in your case.  I note that Ms Cidoni purports to apply these legal principles herself, but as I stated in court, that is not her role.  I will rely on the psychological information she provides and make my own assessment. 

49I consider that there should be modest mitigation of your moral culpability given your reportedly distorted perceptions of reality.  The prosecution conceded slight moderation in this regard, with which I agree.  Your paranoid outlook no doubt played into your grabbing the knife, rather than discussing the issue with your neighbours.

50General deterrence is also moderated given your schizophrenia and schizotypal personality disorder.  Despite being medicated, your beliefs are somewhat skewed and irrational.  While others must be deterred from resolving their issues with knives, I accept you are not an entirely appropriate vehicle for general deterrence. 

51I accept you will find imprisonment more burdensome than would someone without your psychiatric and psychological conditions.  Further, I accept that imprisonment may in fact cause a deterioration in these conditions. 

52Given your lack of insight into your offending, I also consider community protection to be a live issue.  Your paranoia and disordered thought processes clearly place other members of the public at ongoing risk in situations that should not by definition be dangerous, such as discussing neighbourhood issues with you.

53Denunciation and just punishment are also relevant sentencing considerations to which I give weight.

54I was referred to several cases, namely DPP v Nguyen [2023] VCC 437, DPP v Tennant [2022] VCC 78 and DPP v Patten [2020] VCC 993. All resulted in a combination sentence. The prosecution did not provide any comparable cases for consideration.

55Ms James, for the prosecution, submitted that you made a rational choice to get the knife and to lunge at Mr Brown, stabbing him twice without concern as to how serious the injury would be.  Given your complex mental health issues and low functioning, I do not think it was as simple as this. 

56While you indeed made a decision to grab the knife, your inability to read social norms, the way you perceive things and your inability to make logical choices must have had some bearing on how you behaved this day.  It was of course most serious offending but I do not agree that it was necessarily a completely rational choice as was submitted.

57Ms James submitted that a head sentence and non-parole period is called for.

58Your counsel, Mr Goodenough, conceded that a straight community corrections order would be outside the range but urged me to impose a combination sentence comprising of a period of imprisonment together with a Community Corrections Order. 

59I note you told Ms Cidoni that you had tried counselling and would not go back.  Nevertheless, you are said to be compliant with appointments when directed. 

60I had you assessed for a community corrections order.  The assessor reported that you had limited insight into the offending and pose a medium risk of general re-offending, however you were found suitable for an order.    

61Having considered this report together with all the materials tendered, I have reached the conclusion that a combination sentence would not adequately reflect the competing sentencing considerations I must take into account. 

Disposition

62On Charge 1, recklessly causing serious injury, you are sentenced to 2 years and 2 months' imprisonment. 

63I direct that you must serve a minimum non-parole period of 16 months before being eligible for release on parole. 

64I declare that you have not served any time by way of pre-sentence detention pursuant to s18 of the Sentencing Act 1991.

65Had you not pleaded guilty, pursuant to s6AAA of the Sentencing Act 1991, the sentence I would have imposed would have been 3 years and 6 months' imprisonment with a non-parole period of 2 years and 2 months' imprisonment.

66Is there anything further from either counsel?

67MR GOODENOUGH:  No, Your Honour.  Can I just ask what was the non-parole period please?

68HER HONOUR:  The non-parole period was 16 months.

69MR GOODENOUGH:  Thank you, Your Honour.

70HER HONOUR:  Is there anything further from your perspective, Ms James?

71MS JAMES:  No, Your Honour.

72HER HONOUR:  No.  Thank you, you can take Mr Siokos out.

73I thank counsel both for their assistance.  We will adjourn the court.

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